The Teen Who Got Oregon to Mandate Teaching the Holocaust

Thanks to a 14 year old student and a Holocaust survivor who became her mentor, Oregon schools have a new mandate to teach the Holocaust.

A talk by a Holocaust survivor that Claire Sarnowski attended when she was in fourth grade altered her life. Claire, who’s now a 14-year-old high school freshman in Lake Oswego, Oregon, has recently succeeded in lobbying lawmakers to mandate Holocaust education in Oregon schools – making sure that a new generation of students grows up knowing about the horrors and lessons of the Holocaust. Even though she’s not Jewish, Claire has made promoting Holocaust education her mission, dedicating countless hours to this cause.

Claire was nine when her mother Carol let her miss a day of school so she could attend a talk given by Alter Wiener, a local Holocaust survivor. “My sister is a teacher in a school in Salem, Oregon,” Carol explained in an Aish.com exclusive interview; her school was hosting Alter and she invited Carol to attend and hear him speak.

As a child, Carol's father insisted that she and her sister learn about the Holocaust and read The Diary of Anne Frank. He took the family to visit Dachau, a trip Carol never forgot. Carol had already encouraged Claire to read age-appropriate books about the Holocaust; meeting a survivor seemed like the logical next step in Claire’s education.

Alter’s Holocaust experiences were deeply harrowing. Born in Poland, he endured five Nazi concentration camps before he was eventually liberated in May 1945. Alter returned to Poland only to find that nearly his entire extended large family – over 120 people – had been murdered. He married, built a family, and moved to the United States in 1960.

Alter moved to Oregon in 2000, and began speaking about his experiences publicly. He also wrote a memoir, 64735 From a Name to a Number: A Survivor’s Autobiography. He gave talks to thousands of groups, including local schools.

After the talk, Claire’s aunt drove Alter home. Claire asked if she could accompany them and the three had an impromptu and deeply meaningful visit.

Alter said he’d never met a child who was as interested in his Holocaust story as Claire. “It was so moving and interesting to me to hear his personal account,” Claire recently recalled, “and it really impacted me. He was such a generous and kind man. I remember thinking, ‘How could someone exhibit so much kindness after going through the things that he has been through?'”

Alter Wiener holds up a photo of himself taken in July 1945, two months after he was liberated from a Nazi death camp,

The Sarnowski family kept in close touch with Alter. He confided in the Sarnowskis his lifelong dream to see Oregon pass a mandatory curriculum standard to make sure the Holocaust was taught in Oregon’s public schools. Claire decided to try and make his dream come true. She contacted her State Senator, Rob Wagner, asking if he could help.

Recently elected to Oregon’s State Senate, Rep. Wagner was glad to hear from his young constituent. He arranged a meeting with Claire and Alter Wiener who explained why they felt Oregon should mandate teaching about the Holocaust in schools. The idea struck a chord with Rep. Wagner. “I remember looking at my kids, after many incidents of racism and anti-Semitism in Lake Oswego, and thinking, ‘We need to prioritize a culture change,’” he explained to reporters. Rep. Wagner agreed to co-sponsor SB 664, a bill to make Holocaust Education mandatory in Oregon.

In September 2018, Rep. Wagner invited Alter and Claire to testify before the Oregon State Senate at a hearing for the bill. They gave emotional testimony. Alter said that in years of speaking to school groups, he has received 88,000 letters from students and adults who heard him speak. He brought 200 letters to the hearings and highlighted the type of impact learning about the Holocaust had on the students.

“A seventh grader...who contemplated suicide because of problems she had to face at home wrote to me that she had changed her mind after my presentation because she realized that after all her difficulties she was still blessed,” Alter explained. “A tenth grader decided not to drop out of high school realizing that she was indeed privileged, after hearing how I was unable to go to school.”

A key lesson he imparted was the crucial importance of kindness and thinking of others. While working as slave labor in a factory, Alter explained, he was kept alive by the kindness of a German woman working in the factory who left sandwiches hidden for him to eat each day for a month.

(Alter’s testimony to the Oregon Senate can be viewed here)

Rep. Wagner told his fellow State Senators, “Learning about the Holocaust is not just a chapter in recent history, but a...lesson how to be more tolerant, more loving and that hatred is, eventually, self-destructive”

Alter Wiener and Sen. Rob Wagner

Claire, Alter and Rep. Wagner continued to work on getting support for the bill. Claire spent many hours on the effort, despite the fact that she was also heavily involved in yet another cause: her mother Carol has MS and Claire was fundraising to help fund MS research. Growing up with a mother with MS might have helped make Claire more open to hearing from others with difficult challenges, Carol explains, and made her even more interested in hearing about Holocaust survivors and helping to spread survivors’ stories.

On Thursday, May 23, 2019, SB 664 passed the Oregon State Senate and House. It’s expected to be signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown and take effect for the 2020-2021 school year. Ten other states have similar laws mandating that schools teach about the Holocaust, including Illinois, California, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Tragically, Alter Wiener did not live to see the bill pass. He died after being struck by a car while he was taking a walk near his home on December 11, 2018. He was 92.

Alter’s legacy of teaching about the Holocaust lives on in his adopted state of Oregon. Today, more than ever, it’s crucial to make sure our children learn about the Holocaust. Ignorance about the Holocaust is a growing phenomenon. A 2018 poll revealed that two thirds of American millennials (66%) don’t know what the Auschwitz concentration camp was. A 2019 poll showed that a third of Europeans know “just a little or nothing at all” about the Holocaust.

Thanks to a high school freshman, and the Holocaust survivor who became her mentor, knowledge about the Holocaust will increase in Oregon.

Yvette Alt Miller earned her B.A. at Harvard University. She completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Jewish Studies at Oxford University, and has a Ph.D. In International Relations from the London School of Economics. She lives with her family in Chicago, and has lectured internationally on Jewish topics. Her book Angels at the table: a Practical Guide to Celebrating Shabbat takes readers through the rituals of Shabbat and more, explaining the full beautiful spectrum of Jewish traditions with warmth and humor. It has been praised as "life-changing", a modern classic, and used in classes and discussion groups around the world.

Wow !! What a moving story , what a special beautiful young girl , I literally cried , not just because I'm Jewish but the fact that someone who is sooo young cares so much about people learning and knowing about thisthe history and has such empathy for others!! Not only that she isn't even Jewish or has a family history of holocaust survivors she is truly a remarkable girl I love that someone so young is sooo aware so special and caring about a group of other people her soul is truly pure ! I would love to meet her give her a hug and say thank you, it's because of children like her that the history of what really happened to the yidden will continue and hopefully the world will remember!! We need this girl especially now with the way the world is , and so many are in denial about the holocaust, thank you thank You for being such a special person, you and your family are amazing, your dad also seems to be pretty special as well , wanting you to learn about the horrors of another people , wow that's what I have to say an I would love to meet you and your family you are truly a special family !! Thank you for caring so very much !!! With much love Mina ! ❤️

(17)
Anonymous,
June 5, 2019 9:23 PM

The Holocaust should be on the curriculum of ALL Schools!

I was a youngster during World War II. I was also aware of what was going on in Europe. I learned it in
Sunday School. I will never forget what I was called
on my way home by a public school classmate. You see, I am Jewish, and, even today, am unable to write what I was called! I have great and grandchildren. With what the word is going through now, I pray every day that a child not be called by any derogatory name. There are many names that are used today that many Jews are called! It is imperative that ALL schools teach the truth of the Holocaust so that there be no hatred against ANY person,man,or woman, white, black, yellow, or green. Anti-Semintism isn’t just against Jews. It’s against ALL Humanity.

(16)
Michael Stein,
June 5, 2019 7:31 PM

Wonderful and important tale of the Holocaust.

Nice to see a sensitive youngster so involved in an important and relevant episode in our recent history. This impacts the education of a new generation and their families!

(15)
Tracy,
June 5, 2019 6:36 PM

Great Work!

Great work Claire and to all others involved! All children across this county and around the world should learn about the Holocaust. By learning about our history, we are hopefully teaching our youth to never allow such a horrific part of our history to ever be repeated.

Amazing and wonderful what one strong ,determined, delightful 14-year-old can do

(11)
Fred,
June 3, 2019 3:48 AM

Great Article

At our local school here in Utah they teach about the Holocaust.

(10)
Sidney Finkel,
June 3, 2019 2:16 AM

I was very moved by the dedication 0f Mr Weiner
I too am a concentration camp Survivor
I have a connection with Oregon
My book is benign used in a middle learn .ore about
E go to my web site
Holovaustspesker
.com

(9)
Sheree Dawn,
June 2, 2019 10:45 PM

Fantastic!!

This beautiful article adds fuel to my fire to continue to speak concerning the Holocaust, tolerance and respect for others. Thank you Claire!

(8)
Anonymous,
June 2, 2019 9:42 PM

My Junior High School Experience! (Continued)

The principal, who was not Jewish, ran the school like the military because he fought against the Nazis (their names should be blotted out forever) in the war. Anti-Semitism infuriated him. We need more like Claire. She is and will be a great inspiration to others.

(7)
Simcha,
June 2, 2019 9:36 PM

My Junior High School Experience!

The junior high school in Baltimore which I attended in the early '70s required the reading of "The Diary of Anne Frank". I was one of only a handful of Jews out of a student body of 2,000. I was verbally harassed by the students due to anti-Semitism. The staff, including the principal and teachers were on my side and defended me. When my parents (may they rest in peace) and I went to the principal, he was furious and reprimanded the students to such a strong degree that they not only stopped harassing me, but apologized as well.

(6)
Anonymous,
June 2, 2019 5:29 PM

Brave

I applaud Claire's courage and tenacity to get this law signed into affect. I believe it is imperative that The Holocaust be taught in EVERY school in the United States, public and private.
It saddens me that Alter didn't live to see the law put into effect. He'd have been so proud.

(5)
Dr. Arnie Feiner,
June 2, 2019 3:38 PM

What an inspirational story - God bless her and Sen. Wagner.

If ever Claire visits the DC/Baltimore area, we would love to welcome her to our home and take her out to dinner — she certainly deserves it! As a retired psychologist who worked with and accompanied many FL teens on the ‘92 March of the Living and our being charter members of the National Holocaust Museum, I’m particularly interested in all areas of Holocaust-related issues. Respecting her privacy, please feel free to relay my thoughts to Claire and her wonderful family. Too bad there aren’t many more like them.

(4)
Irene Golden,
June 2, 2019 3:16 PM

A testament to a survivor

Thank you Alter Wiener. Rest in Peace. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if Rep. Wagner could convince his fellow congressmen to implement this into use in every state? He might also talk them into giving up the hate they have been fomenting these past 2.5 years against the president. We are all Americans. Let's act like it.

(3)
Pam Webber,
June 2, 2019 2:59 PM

Awesome story

I was truly amazed that in 2019, that almost 75 years after WW2, not all States have The Holocaust on their history courses. With this type of neglect, it can happen again!!

(2)
Richard,
June 2, 2019 2:53 PM

This should be required worldwide!

Our educational system from an historical perspective and sociological perspective has gone and continues to go down the tubes. Our government, media and 'educators' are ignorant and they politicize their ignorance. Only with proper education can we move forward in the right direction. The Holocaust gives us a basis for learning about human dignity and respect.